The Catholic Southern Front

Chapter 9/39 Our Lady of La Naval de Manila

Throughout the years 1565 to 1606, Spain successfully converted the Philippine
Archipelago to Catholicism. This enterprise occurred in just forty years, without the
need of persecutions, repression or the suppression of sanguinary revolts. Our Lady of
La Naval is the Patroness of Quezon City; this Image is kept at the Dominican

monastery. Certain historical sources postulate that during the year 1630 circa, the
Image was washed upon the shores of Manila Bay, other sources state that the Statue
was commissioned by the Spanish Governor, General Luis Perez Dasmarinas. A pagan
Chinese sculptor commissioned to fashion the Image, later was converted to the Faith
through Our Ladys intercession. The Statue of Our Lady and Child was named Our
Lady of the Holy Rosary of La Naval de Manila. in the phrase Our Lady of La Naval de
Manila, the words La Naval mean, Our Lady helper of Catholic Navies. In the 1600s,
the Protestant Dutch and English, set their eyes and hopes upon gaining Spanish
Catholic Philippines. They intended to subjugate the Catholic Archipelago to their
governments and following the necessary preparations, set sail to conquer the Filipino
Islands. In 1646, five naval battles were fought, the result ensured that the Philippine
Islands would remain a Catholic Archipelago. Through the intercession of Our Lady of
the Holy Rosary of La Naval de Manila, two Filipino cargo ships armed with custom
adjusted guns, defeated fifteen Dutch warships. Before every battle the crews,
consisting of Spanish and Filipinos, sought with prayers of supplication the
intercessory aid of Our Lady. Following the battles in 1662, the Ecclesiastical Council in
Cavite, declared the five naval battles as miraculous victories brought about by Our
Lord through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and the devotion to the Holy
Rosary. The remembrance of Our Ladys intercession and testimony of protection
during battle, was kept for the greater devotion to the most Blessed Mother of God and
her Holy Rosary.
On March 15, 1646, the Dutch Protestant flotilla appeared at the port of Manila. The
Spanish and the Filipino people accomplished all in their power, to equip two cargo
ships called the Incarnation and the Rosary with the few arms and cannon they had
at their disposal. Father Jean de Conca O.P. had the sailors recite the Rosary in
alternating choruses upon the bridges of the two ships. The conflicts occurred between
March and October. Initial encounters with the Dutch proved that the foe was well
armed and numerically superior. During one instance the Filipino cargo vessels were
trapped in a narrow strait while seven Dutch ships were approaching. The crew vowed
to Our Lady, that they would perform a pilgrimage barefoot to the Image of Our Lady
at the Dominican Church, if their lives were spared. Surprisingly the foe sailed past, a
beautiful sunset must have prevented the Dutch from discovering the Filipino armada.

The vessels exited the creek and chased the Dutch flotilla, a first encounter ensued
which lasted till sunrise when the Dutch retreated. On returning to the Manila port the
crew fulfilled their vow and went on pilgrimage to the monastery. The two cargo ships
were now referred to as the galleons of the miracle.
The following four battles resulted in successive victories for the Catholics. The fifth
encounter proved to be the last. The Dutch ships found their enemy cargo vessels
anchored at port, with the added disadvantage of having the wind against them. The
Catholics fought from their anchored positions and pummeled their enemy mercilessly,
the enemy was defeated and fled away. Following the defeat of the Protestant ships, a
voice was heard in the heavens saying: Long live the Faith of Christ and the Blessed
Virgin of the Rosary.(1) The Spanish and the Filipino forces lost only 15 men out of a
total of 200 sailors. His Holiness Pope Pius XII, referred to the Philippines as: the
Kingdom of the Holy Rosary,(2) the devotion to this prayer was greatly increased
through the miracles wrought by Our Lady and the confidence the Pontiff showed in
this people. In 1906, the Apostolic Legate crowned the Holy Image of La Naval.
During the Second World War, the Shrine of Santo Domingo in Manila was shelled,
however, La Naval was kept safely in the Churchs vault and transferred to a chapel. In
1952, the shrine was rebuilt and the Image was once again placed within the Church of
Saint Dominic. The Feast in Manila is at present celebrated yearly, the miraculous
Statue of Our Lady of the Rosary, is carried in the streets followed by twenty-one
decorated floats, all representing Dominican Saints. Crowds of up to, 200,000 people
accompany this procession and at the end of the ceremony, the entire Philippine
Archipelago, is consecrated to the Blessed Virgin. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary,
is universally held on October 7. In Manila it is celebrated on the second Sunday of
October.
In 1973, La Naval was made Patroness of the capital city of the Philippines. In the
eighties the government of Marcos refused to yield to democratic elections, this caused
widespread peaceful protests by the people. In February 25, 1986, Cardinal Jaime Sin,
the Archbishop of Manilla, invited the people to arm themselves with rosary beads,
icons and flowers. Armed with these spiritual sacramentals, the people carried out a

peaceful procession in the streets. The Filipino Dominicans held a replica of the Image
of La Naval; nightly vigils took place outside the gates of the presidential palace. Peace
was being sought and was the reason for the non-violent processions. To the surprise
of the people, the government sent tanks to quash the Rosary armed protesters. As the
tanks rolled in many of the civilians were lying prostrate on the ground and waved
their Holy Rosaries. Marcos gave the army the order to open fire on the people. The
soldiers were about to carry his ruthless orders, however in the year 1986, Marcos
Loyalist Militia witnessed an age old phenomenon, similar in nature to all the ancient
supernatural miracles mentioned in this book.
MarcosLoyalists rode on the tanks and were preparing to pull the trigger of their sub
machine guns and riddle the Faithful with their bullets. In an instant the loyalists
witnessed a cross in the sky and Our Lady the Blessed Virgin appeared before their
tanks, she was dressed in blue. The soldiers and the Faithful remained dumbstruck,
many civilians actually believed that this young lady was an ordinary nun. This nun
was not of this earth however, for she had eyes that sparkled and was a beautiful
heavenly radiant nun. She appeared right before the tanks and said to the soldiers:
Dear soldiers, stop! Do not proceed! Do not harm my children!(3) Marcos Loyalists
descended from their tanks; they placed their weapons aside on the ground and joined
the Faithful. The soldiers repented of their sins and visited Cardinal Sin, who accepted
their confession and enjoyed hearing them retell the manner in which this beautiful
nun appeared. Marcos lost all support and had to flee. Later Cardinal Sin met with the
last surviving visionary of Fatima in Portugal, Sister Lucia. She assured the Cardinal
that the Philippines would be a catalyst for the conversion of China.

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval de Manila (Spanish: Nuestra Seora del
Santsimo Rosario de La Naval de Manila; Tagalog: Mahal na Ina ng Santo Rosaryo ng La Naval de
Manila; colloquially known as Santo Rosario or Our Lady of La Naval de Manila), is both
a title and an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated in the Philippines. As with the Battle of
Lepanto of 1571, Filipinos credit her intercession for successfully repulsing the Protestant Dutch
invasion during the Battles of La Naval de Manila. Pious believers also credit the venerated image
as the turning point for the country to remain as a bastion of Catholicism, famously claiming the
victory of the country as "Pueblo Amante de Maria" or the beloved land of the Virgin Mary.
The image has been venerated by various Pontiffs, most notably by Pope Pius X, who granted the
image a Canonical Coronation on October 1907. In 2009, the Philippine government designated the

image and its shrine as National Cultural Treasure of the Philippines making it one of the
country's Cultural Properties.

Pontifical approbations[edit]
The statue has merited several papal honours, namely the following:

In an undated 1903 letter to the Archbishop of Manila, the "Rosary" Pope Leo XIII issued an
exhortation for people to come in pilgrimage to the Virgin's shrine in Santo Domingo Church
(then in Intramuros).

"...Go to the temple of Santo Domingo, to the sanctuary of the excellence of the Most Holy Virgin of
the Rosary in the Philippines, to the place where your elders bent their knees to give thanks to her
who liberated these Islands from Protestant heresy, to the spot consecrated by the piety of one
hundred generations who had gone there to deposit their piety and confidence in Mary most holy...
Leone XIII, P.P. "

Pope Pius X granted the image a Canonical Coronation through Archbishop Dom Ambrose
Agius of Malta on 5 October 1907.

Pope Pius XII also sent her an Apostolic Letter on the occasion of the three hundredth
anniversary of the Battle of La Naval de Manila on 31 July 1946.

Pope Paul VI proclaimed her Patroness of Quezon City on 13 October 1973.

Pope John Paul II dedicated the Asian continent to the same title under a proxy replica
image bearing the similar title on 18 February 1981. The Pontiff blessed the original image the
next day in another public Mass, 19 February 1981.

History[edit]

Procession before the enthronement of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval

In 1593, the new Spanish Governor-General Don Luis Prez Dasmarias, commissioned a statue
of Our Lady of the Rosary for public veneration in memory of his recently deceased father. Under the
direction of Captain Hernando de los Rios Coronel, the sculpture was made by an
anonymous Chinese immigrant, who later converted to Christianity; this is the commonly cited
reason for the statue's Asian features. The statue was later given to the Dominican friars, who
installed it at the Santo Domingo Church.
In 1646, naval forces of the Dutch Republic made several repeated attempts to conquer the
Philippines in a bid to control trade in Asia. The combined Spanish and Filipino forces who fought
were said to have requested the intercession of the Virgin through the statue prior to battle. They
were urged to place themselves under the protection of Our Lady of the Rosary and to pray
the rosary repeatedly. They went on to rebuff the continued attacks by the superior Dutch fleet,
engaging in five major battles at sea and losing only fifteen members of the Spanish Navy. After the
Dutch retreat, in fulfillment of their vow, the survivors walked barefoot to the shrine in gratitude to the
Virgin.
Later, on 9 April 1662, the cathedral chapter of the Archdiocese of Manila declared the naval victory
a miraculous event owed to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, declaring:

"Granted by the Sovereign Lord through the intercession of the Most Holy

Pope Pius X authorized granting the statue a canonical crown in 1906, which was bestowed by
the Apostolic Delegate to the Philippines, The Most Rev. Ambrose Agius, O.S.B.. During
the Japanese bombardment in 1942, fearing that the statue would be destroyed, church authorities
hid the statue at the University of Santo Tomas until 1946, the 300th anniversary of the battles.
The statue was transferred in October 1954 to a new shrine built to house it inside the new Santo
Domingo Church in Quezon Citythe sixth Santo Domingo Church since its erection in the late
sixteenth century. For this journey, devotees constructed a boat-shaped carriage (Spanish: Carroza
Triunfal) to carry the image to its new home, which was declared her National Shrine by the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines.[4] In October 1973, La Naval was formally declared
the patroness of Quezon City, at that time the national capital. Filipino Archbishop Mariano Gaviola
declared her Patroness of the Philippine Navy in 1975, a patronage invoked until this day.
During the People Power Revolution of February 1986, a replica of the statue was brought in
procession to the Malacaan Palace by the Dominican friars, in a peaceful protest of the state
of martial law instituted by President Ferdinand Marcos. The replica was also brought to the eastern
gate of Camp Crame, the police headquarters where the rebel forces headed by Juan Ponce
Enrile and Fidel V. Ramos were confined during the uprising. Many Filipino Catholics attribute the
revolution's peaceful victory to the miraculous intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary.[5]

Filipino historian Nick Joaqun attributed one of the red jewels in one of the statue's crowns to an old
legend of a giant serpent found in the Pasig River; the local folktale is more likely a metaphor of the
triumph of Christianity over paganism.[citation needed] The other crown was supposedly inscribed and
donated by King Norodom of Cambodia in 1872, one having disappeared after a burglary in 1930
while another one was simply two pearls adorning the orbs of the statue.

Notable events[edit]

A replica of the image at the 76th Anniversary of the Court of Appeals of the Philippines in 2012.

The funeral service of former senator Benigno Aquino Jr. was held in the image's shrine after
his assassination in August 1983. Other notable funerals held in the shrine include renowned Filipino
actor Fernando Poe Jr. in 2004 and Doa Mara Ejercito, the mother of former President Joseph
Estrada in 2009.
Journalist and television personality Korina Sanchez married government secretary Manuel A.
Roxas II in a televised Spanish-style wedding in front of the image on 27 October 2009.
In December 2011, the Eternal Word Television Network featured the image as the "Grandest Marian
Icon in the Philippines" on an episode of the programme "Mary: Mother of the Philippines".
The image, its church and convent, along with the other objects stored in the complex were declared
a "National Cultural Treasure" by the National Museum of the Philippines on 4 October 2012. This
declaration is in accordance with Republic Act 10066 ("National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009")
announced officially by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines and by the National
Museum.[6][7]

La Naval: Heritage Icon of Heroism and

Holiness
La Naval: Heritage Icon of Heroism and Holiness
By Fr. Virgilio A. Ojoy, OP |Philippine Daily Inquirer

10:45 am | Monday, October 6th, 2014

The five La Naval battles, fought fiercely at sea from

March 15 to Oct. 4, 1646, by the Spanish and Filipino
soldiers against the mightier, more heavily armed Dutch
invaders, were a painful birthing of saints and heroes.
The Spanish and Filipino soldiers were fighting with faith
and for their faith. They believed that, through the
intercession of the Blessed Mother, God could work
wonders. That was why they incessantly prayed the
Rosary
while
the
battles
were
raging.

Wittingly or unwittingly, they were fighting for their

Christian faith that was staunchly Catholic, with a unique
devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. That faith faced a
grave threat from the Dutch, who by then generally
embraced a faith that veered away from the Catholic
tradition.
Rosary

and

Victory

In a sense, the Filipino and Spanish soldiers were waging

a war, literally dying, for the faith they wanted to live by.
We do not exactly know what became of each of them,
except that a few died during the battles. Some of them
might have become martyrs, others may have become
saints.
What is certain was that, by being ready to die for the faith
they wanted to guide their lives with, they were actually
striving
for
holiness.
From Oct. 2 to Oct. 12, the yearly Rosary and novena
prayers will be said in honor of Our Lady of La Naval, in
her National Shrine at Santo Domingo Church in Quezon
City, to commemorate that momentous victory.
Once again, the devotees will be treated to nine days of

prayer and reflection, with the theme Maria, Inang Layko,

Ina ng Layko accentuating the role of Mary as the Model
and
Mother
of
the
laity.
The theme was chosen as 2014 has been declared Year
of the Laity by the Church in the Philippines as part of the
nine-year preparation for the 500th anniversary in 2021 of
the arrival of Christianity on Philippine shores.
Holiness

and

the

World

In its pastoral exhortation, Filipino Catholic Laity: Called

to Be Saints, Sent Forth as Heroes, the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines enjoins the lay people to
find their sanctification in the world, and to sanctify the
world and transform it so that this world becomes more
and more Gods world, Gods kingdom, where His will is
done
as
it
is
in
heaven.
The first task lay people can do to sanctify themselves and
the world, says pastoral exhortation, is to shun
consumerism, that desire to feed ones self-centeredness
with the frivolous pleasures, shutting out others especially
the
poor
and
the
needy
from
ones
life.
This is rooted in greed and selfishness that create not so
much the oppressed or the exploited but even worsethe

excluded, the outcast and the leftovers, those who are

no
longer
even
part
of
society.
Instead of greed, selfishness and consumerism, the lay
faithful are encouraged to nurture in their hearts and in
themselves the virtues of justice and charity so that they
can actively participate in the task of creating wealth,
preserving it, and sharing it. Through this, they can
exterminate the existence of the excluded and form a
community, nay, a Church where everyone is welcome.
Sanctify

Politics

In the Philippines, the problematic areas into which true

and authentic Catholics can infuse their souls are in
politics,
business
and
commerce.
It is hoped that Catholics who are appointed or elected to
public office (and there are many, most of whom are even
educated in Catholic schools!) can cleanse our political life
of graft and corruption and rid it of political patronage, both
of which are closely intertwined with the pork barrel
system
that
should
be
eradicated.
Voters are urged to make educated choices during
elections and avoid selling or buying votes as well as
engaging in bribery and accepting kickbacks.

Authentic Catholic lay faithful are also encouraged to

cleanse and free the area of business and commerce from
the collusion of tax-collecting agencies with some
business people, which generates the further
impoverishment of those who are already excluded.
Mary,

Model

of

Heroism

The Blessed Virgin Mary is always looked up to by all

Christians, especially by Catholics, as a model of holiness.
She exemplifies a devout listening to and reflecting on the
Word
of
God
and
obeying
it.
The lay faithful in the Philippines face a formidable battle
against enemies that can wield their power and
influence in government, in the justice system, and even in
the media, which also needs the healing of its propensity
for
the
news
rather
that
the
truth.
Often, the enemy is within themselvesin their values, in
their well-entrenched practices and habits which, although
wicked, are widely accepted by reason of their sheer
longevity.
The novena to Our Lady of La Naval is an avenue by
which the call for the laity to holiness and heroism is

echoed. Hopefully, like the La Naval battles won through

the intercession of the Blessed Mother, todays battles of
conquering oneself, and of transforming Philippine society
and Church, can also see a glimmer of that victory that
has eluded Las Islas Filipinas for a long, long time.
Our Lady of Peace
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the religious symbol. For the rock band, see Our Lady Peace. For
other uses, see Our Lady of Peace (disambiguation).
"Queen of Peace" redirects here. For the Florence and the Machine song, see Queen
of Peace (song).
Our Lady of Peace
Statue of Malia O Ka Malu.jpg
A statue of Our Lady of Peace stands in the courtyard of the Cathedral of Our Lady
of Peace in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Mother of Peace, Queen of Peace
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Major shrine Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, Hawaii
Feast 9 July, January 24
Attributes

Blessed Virgin Mary, Infant Jesus, olive branch, dove

Patronage Peace, Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, El

Salvador, Maine, Hawaii
Our Lady of Peace, Mother of Peace, Queen of Peace or Our Lady Queen of Peace is
a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic Church. She is represented
in art holding a dove and an olive branch, symbols of peace. Her official memorial
feast is celebrated on January 24 each year in Hawaii and some churches in the
United States. Elsewhere, the memorial feast is celebrated on July 9.

Contents [hide]

History

1.1

France

1.2

El Salvador

Patronage

2.1

Other shrines

References

External links

History[edit]
France[edit]
The traditional story holds that in the early 1500s in France, a certain Jean de
Joyeuse presented the statue as a wedding gift to his young bride, Franoise e
Voisins. The statue was known as the "Virgin of Joyeuse", and became a cherished
family heirloom.[1]

Around the year 1588, Jean's grandson, Henri Joyeuse, joined the Capuchin
Franciscans in Paris and brought the statue with him, where it remained for the next
200 years. With the olive branch in her hand and the Prince of Peace on her arm,
the statue was called Notre Dame de Paix (Our Lady of Peace). In 1657 the
Capuchin community erected a larger chapel to accommodate the growing number
of faithful who sought her intercession. On July 9 that year, before a large crowd
which included King Louis XIV, the papal nuncio to France blessed and solemnly
enthroned the Virgin's statue. Pope Alexander VII would later designate this date for
the Capuchin community to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Peace.[1]

During the French Revolution, which erupted in 1789, the Capuchins were driven
from their monastery. They took the image with them to prevent its destruction by
the ransacking rebels. When peace was restored in the land, the statue was brought
out of hiding and entrusted to Peter Coudrin, a priest in Paris. In 1800, Coudrin and
Henriette Aymer de Chevalerie became co-founders of a community of sisters,
brothers and priests the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and
the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Coudrin gave the statue to
Mother Aymer, who enshrined it in a convent chapel in the Picpus district of Paris on
May 6, 1806. The members were also known more simply as the Picpus Fathers or
Sacred Hearts religious.

Excluding its pedestal, the figure of dark hardwood is 11 inches tall, and is
fashioned in the Renaissance style of the period. Mary is depicted as a dignified
matron, with the Christ Child on her left arm and an olive branch in her right hand.
[1]

El Salvador[edit]
Tradition holds that in 1682 some merchants found an abandoned box on the shore
of Salvador's Mar del Sur. Unable to open it, they tied the box on a donkey's back
and set out to inform the local authorities of their find. When they were passing the
parish church, now a cathedral, the donkey lay down on the ground. They were then
able to open the box and were surprised to find that it contained an image of Our
Lady holding the Child. It is said that a bloody struggle was going on between the
inhabitants of the region, but when they heard of the marvelous discovery in the
abandoned box, they put down their weapons and immediately ceased fighting. This
is why the image was given the title of Our Lady of Peace, whose liturgical
celebration is held on November 21 in memory of its arrival at San Miguel.[2]

The statute is a dressed wood carving; with the national shield of El Salvador
embroidered on the front of the image's white robe. The image holds a gold palm
leaf in memory of the eruption of the Chaparrastique volcano, which threatened to
destroy the city with burning lava. The frightened dwellers of San Miguel brought
out the statute of Our Lady of Peace to the principal door of the cathedral, and at
that precise moment the force of the lava changed direction, moving away from the
city.[2]

Pope Benedict XV authorized the Canonical coronation of the image which took
place on November 21, 1921.[2]

Patronage[edit]

Statue of Our Lady of Peace in front of Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica

Our Lady of Peace is the patroness of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of
Jesus and Mary religious order, founded by Peter Coudrin in Paris during the French
Revolution. When the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary

established the Catholic Church in Hawaii, they consecrated the Hawaiian Islands
under the protection of Our Lady of Peace. They erected the first Roman Catholic
church in Hawaii to her. Today, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu is the
oldest Roman Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States.

There are three famous statues of Our Lady of Peace located in Paris and Honolulu.
The original is a wooden carving located at a convent of the Congregation of the
Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in France. A larger replica in bronze was hoisted
above the altar and sanctuary at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, while a third
stands on a pedestal outside the cathedral.

The original statue of Our Lady of Peace was ceremonially crowned on July 9, 1906
by the Archbishop of Paris in the name of Pope Saint Pius X. Every July 9 since then,
the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary have celebrated the Feast
of Our Lady of Peace. During the troubled years of World War I, Pope Benedict XV
added Our Lady of Peace to the Litany of Loreto, a sacred prayer in liturgy.

Other shrines[edit]
Pope John Paul II consecrated and dedicated the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of
Yamoussoukro in Cte d'Ivoire to Our Lady of Peace.[3] It is the largest place of
worship in Africa. Elsewhere throughout the world, there are parish churches named
in honor of Our Lady of Peace in various forms, especially in Ireland and the United
States. A notable example is the Queen of Peace church in Bray, Co. Wicklow,
Ireland.

The EDSA Shrine in Metro Manila, the Philippines, is also dedicated to Our Lady of
Peace. Located along EDSA, it commemorates the alleged role of the Virgin in the
People Power Revolution of February 1986 that ended President Ferdinand Marcos'
21-year dictatorship. Mary is said to have shrouded the more than 1 million peaceful
demonstrators on the highway from possible air attacks by troops loyal to Marcos; a
mural inside the shrine's nave depicts the "miracle". The image associated with this
particular shrine differs from traditional depictions of the title: Mary, crowned and
clad in golden robes, has her arms outstretched, while several white doves surround
her.

The Foujita chapel in Reims, France is dedicated to Our Lady, Queen of Peace, as a
reaction to the horror and devastation caused by the 1945 Bombing of Hiroshima
and Bombing of Nagasaki by American forces towards the end of the Second World
War.

The chapel at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas is also dedicated to Our Lady
Queen of Peace.[4]